A Lycanthrope's Introspection
by JadeAngelice
Summary: Still bad with the summaries. ShizNat and werewolves-'cause that's soooo original. Check it out. R&R plzthx.
1. Introspection

Introspection

I come back to myself and find that I am now in a warm, dark forest.

I can't see much, but the air feels thick and humid on the back of my tongue-it has recently stopped raining.

I breathe deep, scenting the night around me.

I don't sense movement yet, so I wait.

I take silent, padding steps deeper into the thicket.

The underbrush grows thicker and I freeze, my ears standing at attention.

Finally.

I can hear movement...

I scent the rabbit's fear on the breeze, and I grin inside my head.

I can almost roll it around on my tongue, like candy.

But my prey doesn't know I am here, it only senses danger.

The fear excites me, and my heart beats faster.

The rabbit's pulse thunders in my ears; I can no longer hear anything else.

I tense in preparation for the best part-the chase.

I crash through the underbrush faster than my prey can move away.

A normal wolf couldn't.

But I'm different.

Faster.

My paw traps it.

A normal wolf couldn't do this.

But my paws are different.

Bigger.

I stare down at the rabbit.

As it struggles, my breath comes faster.

Its pulse beats against the skin like a trapped thing.

I want so badly to free it.

I know that I can wrap my jaws around it and it will be free in a scalding wave.

That wave.

It's what I crave; it's the thing I must have.

I lean close to the rabbit, pressing my muzzle to its throat.

Savoring the moment.

A normal wolf wouldn't do this.

But my mind is different.

Human.

I enjoy this.

I will hate myself tomorrow, but I love it now.

There will never be a greater joy for me.

I open my muzzle and descend.

I lift my muzzle skyward, and I know it's no longer white.

It's red, and it glistens beautifully in the moonlight.

Things thicker than blood slide down my face, and I feel enraptured.

My eyes find the brightness that is the full moon.

And I know my eyes glow just as brightly.

With all the breath I have in me, I howl.

I'm screaming.

I scream because in this one moment, I am happy.

I scream because of the form my happiness chooses.

I should be horrified, or disgusted.

Tomorrow, I will be.

But now, I am one with the night.

I am home.

A normal wolf only kills to eat.

I'm not hungry.

But I hear a rustling in the trees.

A deer this time.

A bigger kill.

I bound after it, joyously.

I know it can't outrun me.

Because I'm different.

And this isn't nature.

This is an atrocity.

I am a monster.

But I wasn't always this way...


	2. Chapter 1

(Natsuki)

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the sleeve of my T-shirt, sitting down heavily on the bleachers. It had to be a hundred degrees out here-my shirt was stuck to my back with sweat. And it was dark outside, for crying out loud! It must have been the humidity. It had been raining for the last three days, and only stopped the night before. The air felt like it was solid. I cracked open my soda and upturned it, drinking half of it before coming up for air. I sat there for a while, watching the crowd hurry by and wondered what the hell I'd agreed to come here for, anyway. What was so great about a fair? I sat there, trying to cool off, and slapped my forehead as I saw a familiar figure storming toward me. Whoooops.

"Where WERE you? It's too hot to be standing around WAITING...and I was there for an HOUR-" my best friend started ranting at me. She was short, about five foot two, and her short red hair was matted to her head in a mass (it really was that hot outside), and even though she didn't play any sports, her body was pretty solid, if not athletic. Her eyes were a piercing green and seemed really hostile most of the time.

"Oh, can it, Nao. You would never have found me in that mess, anyway." I said agitatedly, pointing at the huge crowd. Nao crossed her arms. I pushed some of my long hair behind my ear. It wouldn't stay out of my face. Sometimes I wished I could stand to cut it…but my hair was…well, I liked it how it was.

"You should've waited anyway. It's not nice to ditch the best friend, Natsuki."

"You're missing the point, here." I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my drink.

"It's not the point...it's...well, it's the principle of the thing!" she argued, and sighed knowing she'd lost at whatever she was bitching about.

"Jesus, it's hot." I said, hoping she'd let me change the subject.

"No kidding." She conceded. Woo-hoo.

"Let's go do something to cool off." I suggested after a short pause. She looked at me for a minute, waiting, and then rolled her eyes.

"Like what? Dance naked under the full moon?"

"The full moon's tomorrow night." I said, and she sunk down in the seat next to me, and gave me a look.

"Ookay, Miss Astrologically Correct." She said, and I just blinked at her.

"Miss what?" Nao grinned.

"Miss Astrologically Correct-you know, like 'politically correct', or 'anatomically correct'-only...not." She explained. I flicked her forehead with my index finger, and she punched my arm.

"You're an idiot." I laughed.

"Indeed. Let's at least go to my house or something. Where there's air conditioning. Then we could go for a woodsy walk." Nao said, taking an exhausted breath. One of our favorite pastimes was exploring the forest around our houses. There were miles of it.

"Yeah, let's." I said, and we stood up, making our way through the crowd. Nao pushed ahead of me, and I tossed my soda can on the ground, following. Then my face hit someone's chest.

"Littering is a crime." A boy's voice (with a faint French accent?) said quietly and with a hint of amusement, and I looked up into a pair of honey brown eyes. They were beautiful eyes that seemed to have an odd glow. Dark lashes, and black hair fell tastefully into his face framing the eyes. He was tall, must have been about five foot eleven (not quite six feet), and wore blue jeans that fit him perfectly and a black shirt that emphasized his muscular physique. "Are you okay?" His deep voice said, and I jumped back with the embarrassing realization that I'd been staring for longer than was appropriate. My face burned.

"What are you, some kind of environmentalist?" I snapped. Wow, that was a dumb thing to say. I fought the urge to slap my forehead.

"Not particularly." he said, not elaborating. Ooh, a conversationalist. I hate that kind of...but...he was an attractive conversationalist. A...VERY attractive—my thoughts were interrupted by a giggle. A female one. I looked up as a girl slapped him lightly on the arm.

"Now Reito, what did I tell you about this little tree-hugging fetish of yours?" she said, grinning. She spoke with a much thicker French accent than the boy had.

"It's not a fetish. It's simply rude to litter." he said almost playfully. If the boy was beautiful, I wouldn't know how to describe this girl. She was two inches shorter than Reito-making her two inches taller than me-and had tawny, chestnut-colored hair that reached just past her shoulder blades. It had just enough curl and fullness to it that it wasn't curly, but couldn't be considered straight either. Her eyes were a dark color that could pass as brown, but in the right light had a red glow to them. Her lips were the reddest lips I'd ever seen without makeup, and they were very pouty. Except the grin she was wearing ruined the effect. Or maybe it didn't. She quirked a brow at me, and I closed my mouth. Damn...freaking...

"What is the matter?" She asked. "Something on my face?"

"No...You guys are just...well..." I was having trouble speaking, and I would have loved to give myself a good slap. Didn't want to look insane, though. "I haven't seen you around before. And this is a pretty small town."

"I've noticed. It seems the entire town is here at this...fair. I didn't even think there were THIS many people around." She said. "What is so great about a fair, anyway?"

"...That's what I said." I grinned. "My friend and I were just leaving, but, uh.." I looked around Reito, and didn't see Nao anywhere. "She seems to have lost me. Or, I lost her. Well, you lost her." I babbled, looking up at Reito, who frowned at me.

"What?" he said, truly confused, and the brunette girl laughed again.

"You are funny." she took a step toward me and extended her hand. "I am Shizuru Fujino, and we are new here. We start school tomorrow." she said, and I couldn't help but smile. I liked this girl. Even if she seemed really weird. And the boy was attractive and...kind of funny. I shook her hand.

"Shizuru? Huh." I said, frowning. I looked up and asked suddenly (and I have no idea why), "We should be friends. What do you think?" She laughed, again. I seemed to be amusing the heck out of her. Reito grinned slightly. I tried to save myself, and as my face burned, rambled. "I mean…if you just moved here and maybe need someone to like show you around, or…"she saved me, mercifully, from my idiocy.

"I think that would be a marvelous idea." she said, and she took another step toward me. She wasn't smiling anymore. Another step and we'd be touching. She was giving me a really strange look. She looked down, then up, then right into my eyes. "You will be my very first friend in this country." she said, and I was thinking that this is probably the most intense look I've ever gotten. And coming from a girl, unheard of. I may not date much, or like, at all, but I'm not gay. Really. I mean, I look at guys and girls and I think they look good, but I think I'm just asexual. I don't actually want to, well, you know…Anyway, I was about to back away myself when she grinned again and took a step back. Reito looked at me like I'd grown a second head. I decided a subject change was in order-not that we were even ON a subject at the moment.

"So, uh...what grade will you two be in?"

"Eleventh. We'll be juniors." Aha.

"Me too." I said. She smiled again. It made me feel kinda fuzzy. In a weird, pathetic kind of way.

"Delightful. Perhaps we will have a few classes together."

"Yeah...I guess."

"You know, you haven't told us your name yet." she said. Hey, I hadn't. Imagine that.

"Oops." I said, and laughed. "I'm Natsuki Kuga."

"Natsuki? What a beautiful name."

"Not really." I said, and meant it.

"Of course it is. Natsuki." She tested the name slowly, and the way she said it made me blush furiously (again!) for some reason I didn't understand. Then, she glanced upward and I think she was looking at the moon. She seemed lost, like she couldn't stop looking at it. Maybe she was hearing something no one else could hear. I looked at Reito. Nope, he seemed to be hearing it too. And here's the weirdness. Knew there had to be something wrong with them. They were just too pretty to be normal.

"Uh, if you say so." I said nervously, and they both looked at me suddenly. Both of their faces were...I don't know, they seemed wrong. Kind of blank. Then Shizuru smiled.

"I am sorry. I can be strange sometimes." No kidding. We stared at each other. I couldn't think of anything to say.

"HEY! There you are, you damn deserter!" Nao cried, grabbing my arm from behind. I let out a surprised yelp, turning like I'd slap her.

"Nao! There you are. I got...caught up."

"Caught up? Yeah, right. You're just trying to ditch me! AGAIN!" she shouted.

"That would be Reito's fault." Shizuru said, gesturing toward him. Nao looked at Shizuru, then Reito, and stared at them for a moment. Awesome, it wasn't just me. I didn't feel so dumb anymore. "He's sorry he kept you, aren't you, Reito?" Shizuru said, and looked at him expectantly. He looked at her, seemed about to say something, and then looked at us.

"Yes, I'm sorry." He smiled sedately, and Shizuru patted his arm. Whoa. Talk about controlling. He acted more like her slave than her boyfriend. Nao looked really embarrassed now.

"Well...that's all right, I guess." she said, her face turning red. My jaw dropped. She was being nice? What the hell was wrong with her? I looked at her, and saw she was staring at Reito. Oh. Wonderful. I looked at Shizuru, and her eyes went from Reito, who was watching Nao, to me. She grinned. I don't know why. She walked to me and lowered her voice.

"Perhaps your friend and Reito would like to get to know each other a little better? What do you think?" she said conspiratorially. I blinked at her.

"Looks like it, but…" I wasn't sure Nao should be left alone with anyone who made her blush. I would worry about them.

"Reito, Natsuki is going to show me where I can find a restroom." Shizuru said, and Reito blinked, looking at her.

"But, there.."

"Why don't you stay here with Nao? We'll be back shortly." she said, and she was staring at him. His eyes went to the ground, then back up.

"Alright." He said.

"What?" Nao asked, looking back and forth between Shizuru and I.

"Maybe you should show Reito around? They're new here, you know." I said, and gave her a wink where Reito couldn't see. Her face went red, but she forced out a reply.

"I figured that. I guess I can do that." she said, flipping me off where he couldn't see, and Shizuru grabbed my arm and pulled me away. Once we were out of sight, I stopped and looked at her.

"Hey...what's the deal? I thought you two were dating?"

"Reito?" Shizuru said incredulously, and then laughed. Hysterically. I felt like I was the butt of some kind of joke. But her laugh was really nice. Ew, her laugh was nice? What the heck. I wondered if my blushes were like facial expressions, and like they said about those, if I did it long enough it would get stuck that way.

"Is he your brother, then?" and she laughed harder. I just looked at her, frowning in frustration. She stopped laughing and looked at me.

"We're not related. We're just...like best friends, is all. He is much more like a brother than a boyfriend, at any rate. Honestly...Reito and I dating." She giggled again, and I rolled my eyes.

"It's not that funny." I said.

"Sure it is."

"If you say so."

"So, what kind of things do you do for fun around here?"...

3456

(Shizuru)

"I take it you had fun with that Nao girl." I said, eyeing Reito as he walked in our front door with a smile plastered to his face. He had obviously had a good time.

"Oh Erus, she was frustrating. I've never met a girl like her. They don't come like this in France." He said, and laughed. I laughed with him, he always did say such silly things. "But what about you? I mean, 'the restroom?' are you serious? You obviously wanted to make eyes at that cute girl with the dark hair and pretty green eyes." he said playfully and I made innocent eyes at him.

"I have no idea what you mean. I simply wanted to make a friend. We do start school tomorrow, after all." I said, raising my eyebrows. He laughed again, and I smiled at him, before I became serious again. "But you know why we are here. The prophecy states that the Low-Blood will be made here, and very near right now. I do hope she has not already been made and inducted into that silly boy's pack. That would be a shame." I said wistfully.

"A shame, right. You mean, we'd have to kill them all to get her away, and if she didn't want to come with us, kill her too?" He said sullenly, and I looked at him.

"I do not like what I have been ordered by my family to do any more than you do, but they said that it must be me. I had no choice." I said, looking at him intently.

"I know. Neither did I." he said, and smiled slightly at me. He had been my best friend and protector since I had been a child, and I had never gone anywhere away from home without him.

"We will start searching during school tomorrow, I suppose. Tomorrow night is the full moon, and likely the best place to be then is that forest that the boy's pack runs in." I said, and yawned. "I am tired. Holding off partial changes this close to the full moon does take it out of a girl." I said playfully, and headed for the bedroom. Reito did the same.

"I know what you mean. As soon as Nao was out of my sight, my eyes were gone. I had to push her away much sooner than I wanted to." he said dismally, and we went to bed.


	3. Chapter 2

(Natsuki)

I waited outside Nao's house for her to come out. We had a short walk to school, so we didn't bother buying cars. Then we'd have to have jobs, and that's no fun. I did really want a motorcycle though, but my mother wasn't going to have any part of that. My thoughts kept drifting back to last night, and Shizuru and Reito. I didn't know how Reito and Nao had done, because I hadn't seen her since I left her with Reito last night. Shizuru had said she'd meet him at home later, and he'd make sure Nao got home okay. Shizuru and I had a lot of things in common. First there was a common interest in all sorts of mythologies, and then other things, mostly relating to the occult. We just talked well together; we had a lot of fun. Astrology, religion, the supernatural...Nao didn't like that kind of thing much, and it was great to have someone to talk to about it. Well, someone who liked to talk about it, anyway. Our personalities were really different though, but I decided I kind of liked that.

"Oh my god, Reito is so HOT." Nao said, bounding out her door at me. "I'm in love." she said. I laughed. Of course she would decide she loved someone because they looked hot.

"So I take it you had fun?" I said, as we started walking.

"Of course! Not only is he extremely sexy, he's also smart and kind of funny." She said excitedly. "How many guys around here do you find like that? None! They SO don't make them like this in America!" she rambled. Reito? Fun?

"Are we talking about the same guy? He didn't seem very fun-ish when I met him." I said.

"Well, he didn't talk much at first, but he really warmed up to me after an hour or so. We joked back and forth like crazy. I've never met anybody who could keep up with me that well—Did you have fun with, ah, what's her name..."

"Shizuru?"

"Yeah, the chick with the freaky eyes."

"Sure. She likes all 'that weird stuff', just like I do. It's cool."

"Well I'm glad you found someone else to talk to about that stuff. It bores me to tears." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Me too. And it seems you've gone and found yourself a guy. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Well, yeah...if he really does like me. I don't know him well enough to know that, yet. But I sure am hoping. Like a lovesick puppy, man." I laughed again as we walked up the steps to the school.

"You're so dramatic about everything." I said, shaking my head.

"Keeps me entertained. You too, apparently." She said, and flashed me one of her big, cheesy grins. She looked away and frowned. "Though...Reito does seem kind of sad sometimes." she said quietly, and I looked at her.

"Huh?" I asked, as we got into our lockers.

"Nothing, really. Thinking out loud."

"You're an idiot."

"Indeed. See you next period."

3456

(Still Natsuki)

"Quiet down, we've got a new student this morning." Ms. Sugiura said loudly, and the talking quieted to a murmur.

"Is it a girl?" a voice jeered.

"Is she hot?" another joined him.

"Quiet, Kazuya, Tate." the teacher scolded. "This is Shizuru Fujino. She has transferred here from France." she said, as Shizuru entered. I couldn't help but smile when she lowered her head in embarrassment at all the catcalls she got. I spent all of last night with a red face, and it felt a little like payback. "Quiet down!" Ms. Sugiura said again, louder this time. Finally, class quieted. "Well, Miss Fujino, I hope you like our school. Go ahead and find yourself a seat." she said, and Shizuru forced a smile, looking around for an empty seat. Her eyes found me as I waved at her, and then she smiled for real. She sat in the seat next to me.

"I am so relieved." she whispered as she sat down. "I was afraid I would be left to fend for myself among all these..." She frowned, as if looking for a word. "Boys." I stifled a laugh.

"They're not all that bad, are they?" I whispered.

"Of course they are." She said, and I wondered if I heard disgust. Huh. Then another guy from class, Takeda, leaned up from behind her.

"We're only as bad as you want us to be." he said into her ear and she turned suddenly, putting her face very close to his. Now, don't quote me on this, but I swear there was some kind of...growling coming from her throat. It was barely audible, but I heard something. When she spoke again, her voice had gone deeper.

"Well, Takeda...If this is so, then I would very much like to be left alone." she said, still keeping her voice down. Takeda paled. I'm not kidding either. The color drained from his face, and he closed his mouth as he leaned back into his seat. Tate just stared at her from the seat behind me. I guess he was smart enough not to add anything. I stared at her too. She looked at me, and then grinned.

"It took me a lot of practicing before I could shoo the children away this quickly." she said, and I had to stifle another laugh.

"I've never seen anyone shut Takeda up before." Or turn him down, as a matter of fact. He was handsome. Though not as much so as Reito. He was about the same height as Reito, but he was very tan, and his dark hair fell in his face in one of those 'i-just-got-out-of-bed' type of looks that girls seemed to like. He was usually pretty serious, and so sure of himself that he made others feel sure of him too. His eyes were the color of the sky on a clear afternoon. He was also muscular, and he showed it off. If he could be without a shirt, he would inevitably be without it.

"As I said...practice, practice."

"I wouldn't know. I've never had problems with boys bothering me." I said, shrugging.

"That Nao friend of yours probably scares them away." She said, in all seriousness. I looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Nao isn't scary." I said matter-of-factly.

"That is not what I meant." Shizuru answered, giving me a small smile that meant she knew something I didn't know. "At any rate, it cannot be anything else that I can think of. You are far too beautiful not to be fantasized over." She said, and kept a straight face throughout. I fought a blush and lost miserably, then jumped when a book slammed down on my desk. I let out a little squeal, and looked up to see Ms. Sugiura. The rest of the class was laughing. A cold glare shut them up, but Ms. Sugiura just kept grinning at me.

"Miss Kuga, you're being a very bad example. I suggest you start paying attention, or I'll have to make an example out of you." I nodded and looked down at my desk, so that my hair would cover my face. It was on fire. How embarrassing. She went back to the front and resumed her lecture about the Nazis, and the rest of class was rather uneventful. Though I did notice that Takeda and Tate had stared at Shizuru for the entire period. Takeda looked pissed, and Tate looked scared. When the bell rang, Shizuru caught up to me.

"I am sorry for getting you into trouble." she said, frowning. I grinned at her.

"Hey, it's okay. Happens all the time. I hang around with Nao, remember?"

"I see. Nevertheless, I do apologize. Though my locker is the other way. Perhaps I will see you at a later time." she said, and waved as she disappeared into the mass of teenage bodies. I shook my head.

"At a later time? That chick's as formal as Reito." Nao grinned as she fell into step with me.

"Yeah." I shrugged.

"I've got first period with Reito. He sat next to me. He's so pretty."

"That all you got to say?" I laughed. "Did you even talk?"

"Yeah, till Mr. Yamada told us to shut up or we could have a nice conversation in detention today." she shrugged. "It did take me a couple of seconds to decide whether I thought alone time in detention would be a punishment, though." I laughed again.

"Sounds like my first period." We got our stuff for second period, and headed there. My favorite class, too. Mythology. Nao hated it. She'd only taken the class so she could have it with me, and got most of her homework from mine. We shuffled into the classroom as the bell rang, and took our seats. The Mythology teacher, Ms. Suzushiro, walked in and started talking in her frustratingly loud no-nonsense tone.

"Hello, class. For the next six weeks, we'll be studying the moon, and its significance in Mythology..." and I was glued to the lecture for the rest of the hour.

3456

(Shizuru)

"There you are." I said, finding Reito walking quickly toward the cafeteria. "Have you been hiding from me? I have not seen you all day." I quirked an eyebrow at him, smirking. "Or have you just been racing around after Nao?" I joked.

"I have not!" He said, suddenly defensive, and I stifled a laugh as he realized he had made himself obvious. "It's just...well...I've never met anybody quite like her before, and..."

"Be careful." I warned, worried about what would happen if he did get too attached. He stared at me angrily for a moment, but then his eyes went sad.

"Yes, Erus. Of course. I understand." He said dejectedly, and my heart hurt for him. But he could not do something like fall in love with one of them, could he? That would be a horrible disaster. It was definitely not what we were here to do. Then he suddenly smiled, looking over at me. "And I heard YOU had a run-in with Mr. Pack leader during class today." I gave him my best innocent look, again.

"I do not know what you are talking about. I would not do something so brazen only on my first day, would I?"

"Yeah, you would. You're a Fujino." He laughed, and I smiled. "And the girl, you like her, don't you?"

"Yes, she is quite refreshing. She does not lie, and always says what she is thinking. I quite enjoy her company. She amused me today, wondering why the boys do not chase her. Most of them are probably under the impression that she is together with Nao-and that girl of yours is enough to frighten any boy away." I said, giggling before looked at my companion's face and realized I was just as bad as Reito. "We both need to collar ourselves, do we not?" I said sadly, and his smile faded as well.

"Yeah..." he said as we entered the cafeteria.

3456

(Natsuki)

"This is a load of crap." Nao complained as we waited in the lunch line. "Our first day back, and I've already got homework for three different classes!"

"Ah, well. Maybe the second half of school will be relatively homework-free." I shrugged.

"Yeah, right." Nao rolled her eyes. "Freaking Suzushiro. A ten-page paper on some kind of mythology tied to the moon? CRAP, I tell you. Just because _she_ has no life…"

"I think it's neat. I'm thinking about doing mine on werewolves or something."

"Werewolves? What a ridiculous notion." came Reito's voice from behind me, and I jumped.

"Hi, Reito!" Nao said, and if I had to describe her at the moment, I'd say, 'Foaming at the mouth.'

"Hello, Nao." He said, and gave her a smile that I'm sure melted her into her socks. Heck, he wasn't even looking at me and I was almost to melting point. Pretty, right.

"I think it's a good idea." I frowned. Reito laughed.

"I was only kidding," he said.

"It's fine." I said, and he shrugged.

"I think it is a marvelous idea." Shizuru's heavily accented French came through. "Mind if I...oh, darn it, what is that phrase..?" she trailed off, and I couldn't help but giggle. Shizuru frowned. Oh my god, she was pouting. It was freaking adorable.

"Cut in line." Reito answered in a serious tone. Shizuru grinned, her enthusiasm returned like it never left.

"Aha. Yes, that is what I wanted." Nao laughed, and I said, "Go ahead."

"Why thank you, Natsuki." she said, smiling down at me. Oh god, eye contact again…there went my face. Freaking Rudolph, I was.

"Uh...yeah." I answered dumbly.

"So, do you guys wanna sit with us?" Nao asked. Reito looked at Shizuru questioningly, which made Nao and I look at each other. Nao quirked an eyebrow. Was he asking her permission? They had a really weird best friend dynamic.

"I see no reason why not." Shizuru said pleasantly, and Reito smiled. We got our food and headed for the lunch table.

"Who're you two?" Eli, our resident computer nerd asked as we sat down.

"I am Shizuru, and this is Reito." Shizuru answered pleasantly.

"You're French?"

"Wow, was it that obvious?" Reito said sarcastically, and everyone except Eli laughed. I guess Reito could be talkative once you got to know him.

"So, does that mean you guys like...don't shave or use deodorant?" Amber asked. She's another friend, and she's blonde in the truest sense of the word.

"Amber, you idiot." I said. Shizuru laughed, which surprised most of us.

"Do not believe everything you hear." she said. "I do not know about people living in the city…we did not visit much-but we are from the country, and my mother was American-born." and everyone just looked at her. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not really." Eli said quickly. "Say, do you want to go out sometime?" He said, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. Shizuru frowned, and looked about to say something that wasn't very nice. Then she stopped, and smiled.

"I do not believe so. My apologies, but I am not..." she trailed off, and started frowning again.

"What's the matter?" Nao asked.

"I have lost my English again. Reito has been teaching me for the last year, but sometimes I cannot remember how to say certain things."

"Completely understandable." Eli said, a little put out. "Ah, well. What would a fox like you want with a scrawny little nerd like me anyway?" he said with a chuckle, and everyone laughed with him awkwardly. Shizuru still looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't know how.

"So, Reito's from France, too? Did you learn English in school?" Nao asked him, changing the subject.

"No. I was born in this country, but I left about six years ago. Speaking in French all of the time seems to have given me an accent-though I hear girls here like that kind of thing." Reito answered with a quirk to the corners of his mouth.

"They do." Nao answered, grinning.

"So, Reito, want to go on a date?" Amber asked, and I slapped my forehead as Nao gave her the look of ten thousand deaths.

"Not really. Sorry." he said, glancing at Nao, and Amber shrugged.

"Can't blame a girl for trying."

"I sure as Hell can." Nao muttered, and we all laughed again while Amber asked,

"What?"

3456

(Shizuru)

"Are you ready?" I asked Reito that night as he took off his shirt, having already changed into a pair of worn out blue jeans. I myself had put on an older T-shirt and a pair of worn out jeans. I did not particularly enjoy destroying them when we changed. Neither did Reito.

"Yeah." He said. "So, I'm covering the west side of the forest and you've got the east?" he said, making sure of the plan.

"Yes, as long as you think you can handle it." I said with a grin, and he rolled his eyes.

"I am so scared. What if that horrible Dominatus of the local pack shows up and hands my ass to me on a silver platter?" he joked, and I laughed. We both knew that Reito might have trouble with the leader, but either one of us could defeat him if it was necessary.

"Let's go." I said, and we left the house and entered the woods. "Be careful." I said, giving him a look as we separated.

"Always." He said, flashing me that smile that so often won women over as he disappeared into the darkness. I did the same.


	4. Chapter 3

(Natsuki)

"Phone!" Mom yelled from downstairs. I put down my pencil and called to her as I came down.

"Coming. Who is it?"

"It's Nao." She answered, and handed me the phone before heading back to her office. Mom worked from home, and made decent money at it too. It meant she was always home, but always locked in her office.

"If this has to do with Reito, let me know so I can just hang up now." I said sarcastically. Nao laughed.

"Oh, Natsuki. You wound me." She said in mock pain. "Naw, wanted to know if you were going to come walking tonight. We haven't been in almost a week."

"Walking? Dude, it's nine o' clock."

"Yeah, so? I'm bored, not tired in the least, and when's the last time we went more than three days without taking a walk? Who knows, maybe I'll see something I can use in my report. Full moon, and all that."

"One...I'm sure this is a ploy to get me alone in person so you can talk my ear off about how wonderful Reito is, and two...you don't seem to have caught the meaning of the word 'mythology.'"

"Ah, shaddap. Meet me at the usual place?"

"Mmhmm. Wait another hour though, for Mom to go to bed."

"'Kay."

"See you then."

"Later." and we hung up. Our houses were about half a mile apart and all that separated them was a forest. I had trees on three sides of my house, and Nao had them on two. Our 'usual place' was a huge oak tree halfway between both houses...so it was about a fourth of a mile walk.

I told Mom goodnight and waited an hour before sneaking quietly back downstairs and out the back door.

There was a trail worn into the thicket (I walked it about three times a week), so I didn't have to worry about fighting any grabby branches. I loved the smell of the forest at night-I couldn't imagine living in a city. I looked up and could see a few stars, but there was such heavy cloud cover that I couldn't see the moon.

"Geez, Natsuki-I've been waiting fifteen minutes!" Nao complained as I got to our meeting place.

"Oh well. The fresh air'll do you good." I shrugged, and she rolled her eyes.

"Sure." and we walked on, chatting about school and (you guessed it!) Reito for about an hour or so. We were having a great time until we heard a piercing howl coming from the direction we were walking. We both froze and stared for a minute.

"A wolf?" I said, wide-eyed.

"But-we don't HAVE wolves in this part of the country!" Nao said, disbelieving.

"But, it sounded like..."

"Say, maybe we should head home. It's after eleven, and we've got school in the morning, after all." Nao said uncomfortably.

"Yeah. Sounds great to me." I agreed, and we walked back to the tree. We didn't say much.

"See you tomorrow then?"

"Yep. Tomorrow." I answered, and we separated-each walking a little faster now that we were alone. I was a little scared for the first few minutes, but the closer I got to home, I eased up. I smiled as I walked, listening to the night's sounds. A rustling here, an owl's hoot there; it was like music. And no more unnatural wolf howls. Maybe we'd imagined it. Yeah, just a case of overactive imagination. That's all it was.

3456

(Shizuru)

I had been wandering in the forest, following the scent of the local pack when I scented someone that I most definitely should not have been smelling. I smelled the night. Everything beautiful about the night, the forest, the trees, the dew on the plants, the flowers that only open at night. I followed that enticing scent, and low and behold, there was the ever-elusive Natsuki, looking very beautiful and blissfully unaware of the danger she was in just being in this forest tonight.

She really was beaufiful, too. She was just a bit shorter than me, slender of build with hair dark as night and bright green eyes that showed every emotion that she felt. It was really something speaking with her, watching her thoughts and feelings fly right through those gorgeous eyes of hers. She was innocent, too innocent. For a few moments, all I could do was watch her. She seemed as if she were one with the forest, one with the night. It was a sight to behold for someone who was not one of us to seem that...ethereal. The smile on her face said that she was at home here, even alone in the middle of the night. I finally startled myself out of the stupor I was in watching my beautific Natsuki and spoke.

"A little late to be wandering around in the woods alone, is it not?"

3456

(Reito)

I was following my Erus' orders and searching the forest for the enemy-or perhaps our new friend-and I guess I was running too quickly, because I ran right into someone. I was shocked at how distracted I must have been not to smell a human ahead of time.

"Ow! Who the hell...?" I heard Nao's voice and froze. I looked down as she rubbed her head and looked up at me. "Reito?" I stared. I didn't know what to do...what did I say? Why was I out here? My eyes...they were changing already. I prayed for more cloud cover, it helped to delay the changes. "What's wrong?" She startled me out of my thoughts, and I looked back down at the beautiful girl. Erus, no, Shizuru Fujino...had ordered me not to play around with this girl...but it didn't feel like playing. I felt great just being around her. She was so much different than all the pack-women back home. I hated them. I had assumed I disliked almost all women, as fun as they were to play with, but had been rudely awakened by this vision.

"Nothing...nothing's wrong." I helped her to her feet, but I did not let go of her hand. I couldn't seem to do it. She stared into my eyes, and I hoped they were my own. The thing inside me did not want to let go of her, it wanted to pull her close, to embrace her, to...

"Reito? You're acting really wierd. And where's your shirt? And shoes?" Nao said again, and she looked worried. Yes, I was acting weird. I was completely lost in the scent of her, she smelled like wildflowers, like a huge plain filled with beautiful wildflowers. Why couldn't she have been one of us? Before I realized I had moved, I was already very, very close to her. I could feel her breath on my face and I was lost.

"Go home." I finally managed to say. It came out rudely, gruffly. But that's how I always sounded when I was upset...she just didn't know that. Instead of being hurt as I had suspected she would be, even hoped she would be, she looked angry. More than angry even. It was wonderful. I wanted desperately to kiss her.

"I'm a big girl, Reito." She spat at me, and moved as if she would jerk away and storm off, but I did not let her. Her eyes widened as I pulled her by the wrist until she was firmly pressed against my chest.

"I know." I said, and that was all I could manage before I kissed her. I kissed her as if I were a starving man-though that wasn't far from the truth. She should have run away, this wasn't what she should have been expecting, but she didn't.

Instead, she kissed me back just as fiercely, and her fingernails dug into the flesh of my chest as if she was dying inside. As if this had been something she'd wanted for a long time. The feeling was mutual. However, when her nails drew blood, I could barely contain myself. I wanted to push her to the ground and-I pulled away from her suddenly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You should go. We can talk about this later...please, please just go." I said quietly, holding myself to the spot with all my might. Nao looked beautiful while she watched me speak, as if I were her world. She was becoming mine as well.

"Okay." she said after a long moment. "If you promise we'll talk later." she said, and looked at me, her eyes practically begging me to hold her again. I fought with every instinct I had against doing just that.

"I swear." I said, and smiled at her. I meant it. She looked fragile for the first time since I'd met her. I think I loved her then.

"Okay." she said again, turned, and disappeared into the night just before I did the same.

3456

(Natsuki)

"A little late to be wandering around in the woods alone, is it not?" said a familiar, heavily accented voice. I spun around to see an ethereal-looking Shizuru. She was ten feet from me, and even in the pitch-black darkness, I could see her clear as day. As if there were moonlight coming from her very skin. I couldn't do anything but stare as she walked toward me.

"Are you alright?" she asked, looking concerned. Then, I saw sudden movement to my right. It was a huge, dark shape hurdling toward Shizuru. I didn't have any time to think, I just launched myself at her as she finally saw it coming.

"Look out!"

"NON!" we yelled simultaneously as I slammed into her, feeling a small pain on my back as we hit the ground. She pushed me off her and sat up, scanning the darkness. We were quiet for a few minutes before she looked at me, the concern obvious on her face.

"Are you hurt?" she asked me. I grinned.

"I'm fine. What about-" I was cut off as she grabbed my shoulders.

"You…!" she shouted. "You could have been killed! Why would you do something so...so..._insouciant_!" I was confused now. Not only did I have no idea what that last word meant, but I had no clue why she was so angry with me.

"Um...you could have been killed, too. Anyway, I didn't have the time to sit there and debate the risks to my personal safety. Geez. The least you could do is thank me." I pointed out, which seemed to only serve to anger her further. Then, her eyes rolled upward, her head tilting after them.

"Shizuru?" I asked, and she lowered her head from the sky to the ground, slowly. Her hair kept me from seeing her face. She made a beautiful picture like that, kneeling on the ground with her platinum hair pooling around her.

"It is fine. You are right. I should thank you; and you should be getting home." She spoke slowly, and I swear her voice had gotten deeper. I started to say something, but her hands convulsed around my shoulders, she took a deep breath, and stood up suddenly. She held out her hand, still staring at the ground. I took it and she jerked me to my feet. I stumbled forward at the sudden movement, and she caught me. Her chest heaved against mine as she took almost gasping breaths. I looked up, our eyes met, and I stopped breathing.

"Shizuru..?" I spoke quietly. She pushed away from me and ran, disappearing into the darkness. I stared after her for a while, shook myself, then took her advice and headed home. That was...so weird. If I didn't like her so much when she was normal, I imagine I'd have stopped talking to her altogether after tonight.

I snuck back in my back door and went to my room, taking off my clothes. When I climbed into bed to lie down, I sucked my breath in a hiss, sitting up suddenly. My back throbbed in pain. I got up and turned on the light, examining it in the mirror. I had a long, bloody scrape across my right shoulder blade. It must have been that thing that attacked Shizuru, I thought. It had already scabbed over and didn't seem red, so I ruled out infection and went back to bed. (Though I lay on my side this time.)

I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I couldn't get my mind off how Shizuru's eyes had looked before she'd run off. Her eyes. They hadn't been the eyes I remembered from school today, the fair last night...those had been a deep burgundy. Probably brown, but almost reddish in the right light. The eyes I had seen tonight were crimson as fresh blood. I felt them burning into me, setting me on fire, and I didn't know if it was the kind of fire you live for, or die in. There was something about them too, besides the color. The way they looked, with the pupil so large and the iris color so flat. There weren't flecks or lines in them at all, and there was so much less room for whites…and what bothered me most of all was that I knew I'd seen eyes like that somewhere before, but for the life of me...I couldn't remember where.

3456

(Shizuru)

"You." I spat, staring angrily into the eyes of the wolf sitting in front of me, growling. "You could have killed her!" i was furious. How dare he attack me with an innocent present? "How DARE you?" I shouted. The wolf continued growling, and I felt Reito come up behind me, gasping for breath. He must have run a long way.

"Erus, I'm sorry, I..."

"NO EXCUSES." I had not meant to lose my temper, but I did not take it back. He would learn to respect my authority. He was promised to me as my second, the first to join my pack. He would learn, or we would die. The wolf in front of me continued its persistent growling, it was getting irritating. However, as Reito arrived, so did about nine other wolves. They all watched us, prepared to attack. "This is not over, boy." I said to the dark grey wolf at the head of the pack. "Do not cross me. I want to keep peace, but I will not have you harming innocents, your forest or no." The wolf simply growled again, and motioned with his head for his pack to follow him as he raced off into the forest. Even he knew better than to challenge the two of us on a full moon. Oh, he would pay.

I looked back at Reito, and there must have been something in my face because he immediately dropped to his knees and put his nose in the dirt-a display of absolute submission.

"Erus, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...it's just, Nao was out there, and I had to get her to go home, I..." I understood then that my second was only doing as I had done, protecting humans. I steadied my temper with a few deep breaths.

"Nao was here? ...Natsuki was here also. Get up, do not lower yourself so far. Simply do as I wish. I understand your want to protect her, but I also smell her all over you. What have you done, Reito?" I said, watching him carefully as he stood up. His eyes were completely changed by now, as were mine. The change would come soon.

"I...I...I didn't mean to, Erus. I swear...I just couldn't control myself!" He stammered, and I sighed.

"I know you could not. Our strength to hold back only reaches so far...and out here, on the night of the full moon? It is all right. Try not to get too close Reito, it will only hurt later." I sighed, hoping this would not end in a world of pain for Reito. I cared too much for him to see him hurt.

"Yes, Erus. What of Natsuki? Is she alright, safe?"

"Of course she is safe. I would not have it any other way." I said stiffly, and turned away from him.

"It's getting really hard for you too, isn't it?" He said quietly, wanting me to share with him, but afraid I would become angry. I did not. He was right, after all. The two of us were fools.

"Oui." I said simply. "It is time." I said as we both looked to the moon as the cloud cover around it completely disappeared. I couldn't get Natsuki out of my mind. The way she had looked, the way she had smelled, the way she had felt when she had fallen against me like that...I would have done something regrettable had I not pushed her away and run. I hoped with all my might that she would not be upset with me.

It was time to hunt. I only hoped the local pack would leave us be. Two against ten was most definitely not fair odds, although it was likely that the two of us could take them in the right circumstances. They were untamed, vicious animals. We were born and raised for this.


End file.
